Installing Epoxy in Coolers and Cold Temperature

Extend Epoxy Installation Season into Winter

I have spoken on this subject here before but this time of year I get a lot of calls and emails about installing epoxy in cold temperatures. Our company started out as an installation company in Vermont. Summers are very short and winters are very long in Vermont. To stay a viable company, we had to figure ways of working through the winter.

Tenting and heating areas during the winter is time consuming and expensive. The solution is found in resin products that will set in low temperatures. The most durable and cost effective options of installation at cold temperatures is Epoxy and Methyl Methacrylate.

Cold Temperature Cure Resins can also be used as a super-fast setting Resinous Mortar or Coating at normal temperatures. Our Cold Temperature Cure Resins used at normal temperature give you quick turnaround time for small jobs, or larger jobs that require a short turn-around time.

Depending on how you mix the aggregate into the products below, they can be used as a mortar for overlays, or a grout for sealing between other hardened construction materials.

Commonly Used Cold Temperature epoxies

Product #1 Cold Temperature Cure Epoxy Coating is 100% solids and specially formulated coatings for cold temperature applications. Cold Temperature Epoxy Coating #1 is able to cure at temperatures as low as 35°F. It is has Zero (0) VOCs. Since it has no VOCs, it has no solvent so it meets the strictest possible standard for a low VOC coating. It is often used in coolers and food preparation areas that require constant low temperatures. Product #1 Cold Temperature Cure Epoxy Coating is also frequently used in room temperature applications to meet super-fast cure, limited shutdown needs.

Product #10 Cold Temperature Curing Epoxy Mortar Resin – This product has a low modulus of elasticity (flexibility) and is Low Viscosity. The low viscosity allows heavy loading of the right fillers. The heavy filler loading helps not only to save money, but helps to maintain better thermal coefficient with respect to concrete and steel. The low modulus of elasticity prevents it from being brittle making it less vulnerable to thermal coefficient differences. It also gives it better impact resistance.

Oily contaminated concrete is very difficult to bond to, but it can be done with special care and Epoxy.com Product #201 Oil Stop Primer. Plant floors, warehouse floors, commercial, and residential garage floors can all have this problem. Here is a typical question that I get about oil contaminated floors:

“We were looking at your product because we have a floor in a maintenance garage that is pretty well soaked with oil. A new tenant is going into that space so we know that there needs to be something to allow the new floor to stick and to stop the odors.”

The problem with getting superior adhesion to difficult to bond to surfaces like stainless steel and aluminum has been solved

The Technical Support Department here gets many calls from people needing help in selecting the right coatings for a variety of metals and difficult to bond to surfaces. Carbon steel is easy to bond to when it is well sandblasted and you use one of our high end epoxy coatings like Product #2 Chemical Resistant Epoxy. What if the carbon steel cannot be sandblasted and can only be ground? What about stainless steel and other difficult to bond to metals and coatings? Epoxy.com Product #660 Universal Primer and Finish was designed to solve these bonding issues.

Product #660 Universal Primer and Finish is a one component, moisture cured polyurethane aluminum filled primer and coating. Product #660 Universal Primer has a low viscosity, with high “wetting” characteristics, and blistering resistance. This makes Product #660 Universal Primer and Finish a superior primer. It can also be used as a finish coat. Epoxy.com Product #660 Universal Primer and Finish undergoes a rapid molecular weight change as it polymerizes into a high molecular weight finish with excellent corrosion and abrasion resistance.

Epoxy.com Product #660 Universal Primer and Finish is an ideal barrier coat when upgrading existing finishes to strong urethanes, coal tar epoxy, etc. The low solvency power of Epoxy.com Product #660 Universal Primer and Finish enables it to be applied over most types of coatings without causing lifting. A test sample should be made to confirm adhesion. Most generic types of chemical or conventional coatings may be applied over Epoxy.com Product #660 Universal Primer and Finish with excellent adhesion.

Advantages

Excellent primer for all types of surfaces.

Superior “wetting out” properties over sound, rusty steel.

Can be recoated in 1 to 2 hours and can be top coated with most generic type coatings.

Cures down to 25 degrees F on dry surfaces.

Service Temperature up to 400 degrees F

Corrosion resistant: Passes 12,000 hours in salt cabinet.

Good weather resistance.

Now with Epoxy.com Product #660 Universal Primer you can bond to well sanded (ground) stainless steel, aluminum, and carbon steel that cannot be sandblasted. Product #660 Universal Primer is also effective in bonding to other difficult to bond to metals and many other hard to bond to coatings.

Product #660 can apply 2 coats and use it as a standalone coating. You can apply any of our 100% solids high quality epoxies or vinyl esters over it. The problem with getting superior adhesion to difficult to bond to surfaces like stainless steel has been solved.

Please contact Epoxy.com Technical Support Department at 352-533-2167 with your questions. Epoxy.com Technical Support is dedicated to making sure you have the right product for the right job.